Learning Areas

Mercedes College caters for girls from Years 7 through to Year 12. The College encompasses the three learning communities of Years 7 and 8, Years 9 and 10 and Years 11 and 12.

The College offers a broad curriculum and a holistic view of education designed to develop the academic, cultural, service and spiritual potential of our students.

Our curriculum aims to:

Develop the whole person within a caring and supportive Christian Catholic environment and witness to the values and teaching of the Gospel.

Promote excellence and the highest educational outcomes within a non-threatening learning environment.

Guide students to be are self-directed, critical thinkers who take ownership of their educational journey and persevere to achieve their personal best.

Graduate women with a sense of who they are, and of the influence they can have in the world.

Mercedes College is first and foremost a Catholic School. Its story is one of total dedication to the witness of the values and teaching of the Gospel integrated with the tradition of Mercy. As such, the College acknowledges that the first Learning area in a Catholic school curriculum is Religious Education. All students, regardless of religious persuasion, join in the Religious Education program which is designed not only to promote the knowledge and understanding of the Christian message, but also to meet the needs of young people as they embrace the religious challenges of life in the 21st Century.

The Perth Archdiocesan Religious Education Course produced by the Catholic Education Office of WA forms the core of the Religious Education program at Mercedes.

The academic curriculum at Mercedes College is structured around the State Government mandated Curriculum Framework and the developing Australian Curriculum.

Subjects offered at Mercedes are structured around providing opportunities for students to achieve across nine Learning Areas: Religious Education, The Arts, English, Health and Physical Education, Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and Technology and Enterprise.

The Core SubjectsStudents commence in Year 7 and continue through to Year 10 with the following subjects: Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, Physical Education and Health Education.

Students remain with their Homeroom for the majority of their classes. There is an emphasis on numeracy and literacy skills and extra assistance is provided via our Functional Literacy program and our Learning Support teachers.

Year Eleven and Twelve SubjectsAll subjects offered at Mercedes College in Year 11 and 12 are fully accredited by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority and contribute towards students graduating with the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE). All students will be issued with a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) at the completion of secondary.

Courses of StudyCourses are offered at ATAR or Vocation/General level and are structured into semester units. ATAR courses will be externally examined at the end of Year 12 and can be used to calculate a Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) and Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) for entry into Universities across Australia. Courses at all stages can be used for TAFE entrance and graduation purposes.

Vocational Education and Training / Structured Workplace LearningVocation/General students in Year 11 and 12 are offered Structured Workplace Learning opportunities where students work for one day each week in a self-selected industry placement. Students gain accreditation towards the WACE as they are enrolled in Workplace Learning which is a course of Study. If sufficient hours are undertaken students can also use their placement as an endorsed program. For more information visit the INSTEP website at www.instep.wa.edu.au